New year’s resolutions aren’t just for personal lifestyle improvement. You should also review your success as a business owner or employee and determine how you can continue to improve practices and become more successful, with an eye on your future. One of the hardest things to do, in both our day-to-day lives and as business professionals, is examine what we can do better and permanently change old, inefficient habits to create a more optimal outcome.
In business, you should feel invested in making course corrections for your company or career each year as you assess past achievements and look to improve in areas where results were less than ideal. This behavior is part of the core foundation of a long-term growth strategy that keeps you and your company operating as effectively as possible. The industry and marketplace you work in will be evolving over time, so you need to keep up with these changes and take advantage of them. Also, consider reviewing your internal structure and processes, and determine whether there is room for improvement in areas that drive operational efficiency.
If you are a business owner, look at the rest of your team and see who has outperformed expectations and how they might help take your business to the next level by promoting them or expanding their responsibilities. Or, as a peer employee in the business, take a page out of their book and acquire similar best practices that will set you apart and create new opportunities. On the other side of the spectrum, examine employees and peers who may be counterproductive to the company and determine if you can bring them back into the right motivational mindset or decide if they are not what you need to be around to accomplish your goals in the coming year.
Even if you had a successful 2025 and have been successful in years past, never get complacent; continue to improve and create further growth opportunities. The concept of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply in situations where constant change occurs, whether directly in your control or external to the markets in which you work.
Consider obtaining advice from key advisors and managers whom you trust and work with on a regular basis. Objective opinions outside of your own experience are always useful to potentially view things from different perspectives before you fully commit to a course of action.
The ultimate goal is to give yourself the opportunity to be the best version of yourself and realize that it may look a little bit different each year as you face new challenges. Every objective may or may not be accomplished; however, putting in the effort and carefully considering all the options to remain successful and continue to grow will be rewarding.